Diabetic Gastroparesis. Anyone else with this complication? Age 69, T1 64 years. I didn’t know until today that a 1st cousin T1, 60 yr. has had gastroparesis for 17 yr. She told me that she has found great sx relief taking treatment used in Europe, alpha lipoic acid. Anyone have experience with this treatment or know someone who takes it for gastroparesis? Replies will be appreciated.
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Hi @Hen51 sorry to hear you are having troubles. I don’t have Gastroparesis. The thought that comes to my head is to go see a neurologist. There are neuropathy treatments available but I can’t comment on any. Also, if your cousin gets relief by taking vitamins it maybe worth a try as well. I hope you have good luck 
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@Hen51, I am like @joe in that I know absolutely nothing about gastroparesis and the ALA treatment. However, I can say I have heard of ALA and I am totally blank on the reason it came across my radar when it did.
Please share what you and you cousin learn. Your sharing will help us all learn.
I realized later that I took ala for years bc it is an antioxidant. I stopped after retirement when my wife told me we were spending over $3000 a yr on supplements. My cousin first learned of this when researching non-pharmaceutical tx for gastroparesis. It’s been used in Europe for many yrs to tx neuropathy in diabetics. She belongs to chat room for T1s of 25 or more yrs of T1. She has learned that it is less effective or not effective if taking BP meds or antidepressants & a few other meds I forget. I’m going to try it anyway. I already found info on ala on the NIH website. I’ll try to post how things progres…
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Prucalopride (motegrity) is used 2mg BID plus liquid Mg (trace minerals mag 400 Amazon) has worked great for me. Fiber still a no go but decent other foods. Haven’t heard of or tried other stuff you mentioned. Have tried other stuff in past Dom something. Didn’t work. My Endo said latest is not necessarily a complication but more of an autoimmune pathology in well controlled T1D.
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Susie, Thanks for your reply. Your shared insight on gastroparesis as a separate autoimmune condition is very interesting. I would categorize my overall control over 64 yrs as fair to good; in last 15 yrs it has moved to very good. My current endocrinology PA-C & I believe my gastroparesis is due to long term T1 bc I have other complications.
Susie, I am only a layman but you have raised an intriguing question in my own mind Did your Endocrinologist give any other examples of physical pathologies which are perceived as a complication of T1 but which may represent separate autoimmune pathologies?
Good morning! I’m T1D x 47yrs. Before control possible (like you endured too), who knows. After possible non-diabetic A1c. So let’s say 30-years or so. I don’t have other expected complications. Yet several AIDs. My Endo is part care part research as far as time so aware of going thoughts. He did mention cheirorarthopathy. I may have misspelled. 
There is idiopathic GP. That’s because it can occur in non-diabetics too. But it’s easy/lazy to assign To diabetes…
Thanks for new word, cheiroarthropathy, for condition that was present on my Father’s side without presence of diabetes. Do you know if there are multiple factors involved with cheiroarthropathy? In the early to mid 90s I had trigger finger releases & cortisone injections in fingers on both hands performed by my hand surgeon leading up to full carpal tunnel surgery on both hands. No triggers after that surgery. At the first visit he asked if there was scleraderma in my family. I never heard of any.
My Immunologist/Rheumatologist diagnosed me with Diabetic Arthropathy about 20 years ago. I believe diagnostic guidelines would say that the most obvious dx is likely the correct one. Research could lead to dx changes.
This is just anecdotal but it seems to me that diabetic gastroparesis would not be high on the list of first neuropathies that a diabetic might experience. This seems to be your case if I understand your previous texts. I am interested in the research in which your Endocrinologist is working. I might troll the internet for medical articles on other neuropathies & how the diagnoses are made. Thanks
Those can be related to cheiro too. Do you know what a prayer sign test is? Put hands together as if to pray. Are you knuckles and fingers able to be flat without space between? If not that’s another potential sign.
I’m always digging. As I am an auto immune complex patient (>5) so I’m always investigating and digging. I would say that often the most common CAN be the answer but we are all unique and trust me I have found more than once it wasn’t the actual Dx in my case. Be your own advocate. MDs are trained to Dx the most common abnormal. Not the uncommon abnormal which as T1Ds we have auto immune which makes it slightly more complex
Thanks. Yes I was already familiar with the Praying Hands Syndrome. My own test seems no better maybe slightly worse than 30 years ago. My specialists go beyond my GP who is top notch & in demand. I would expect no less of my specialists than to be highly trained in one area. I tell my wife that my chart is marked to designate me as problematic patient, “Troublemaker/Asks Too Many Questions”.
Sorry I should have clarified. The sign isn’t if it gets better or worse, but rather if it exists at all. So if you have space, then it is a positive sign. By definition I don’t believe it can improve. I don’t know if it worsens either but I know if there is space, it is a positive test
No apology or clarification needed. I wasn’t looking at it in the way you have interpreted. Yes I have it. You are correct. This is one disease state that doesn’t improve. A quick glance at studies shows that it can worsen. Good bg control can slow the progress.
Correct. My doctor said as it is not a big driver financially, there is not much research on it unless it will make money with a drug. But he said there are some studies that tend to prove it is not a complication but somehow an auto immune and most likely, genetically similar like celiac is
I had it a few months ago, definitely no fun to get. I am T1D for 29 years and am in good control with no complications. I researched online about it and anything other than a prescription that I could do. Other than the diet changes, I read that taking daily probiotics ( I took twice daily) and chewing gum every time you eat something would help. The gum chewing sounds strange but it puts enzymes into your stomach to help with moving the food on through. After a few weeks, I had relief and am back to normal. I’m not sure what got it started but am so thankful it’s better! I continue with a daily probiotic, & if I suspect my stomach needs help, I pop in a piece or two of gum. Hope this helps 
Hello! I do not have gastroparesis myself but I work as a dietitian in a hospital and have helped treat patients with severe gastroparesis. I’ve never heard of using alpha lipoic acid as treatment but a quick google search turned up this article: International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Medicine. It mentions that using ALA in combination with a prokinetic agent (like reglan) may help to speed up gastric emptying. Might be worth a shot asking your endo if they would recommend it. If you have any nutrition related questions related to managing your gastroparesis I’d be more than happy to provide some tips.
Thanks for the link. Many years ago I was prescribed Reglan for another stomach problem. “May cause restlessness” side effect should have read,…“restlessness to nth degree”. I’ve heard from other members re: use of ALA in combination with other things. Saw GP yesterday. I want to proceed with tests for her rule out diagnoses before trying anything new.
Thanks for offer of advice. Had zoom appt with dietician at Hershey PSU. Somewhat helpful but recipes & menus seem better suited to non-diabetics. Right now I have to iron out insulin delivery from my Tandem t:slim x2 to match slowed digestion & changing effects on bg. I’m doing with my Endocrinology PA -C. I am eating very, very small meals to maintain gastro comfort level. I’ve used guidelines posted on Mayo Clinic website. I will contact you if I have any questions. Thank you.